Category Archives: Cooking

Here you’ll find everything about cooking that isn’t actually a recipe. Tips, techniques, gripes, whatever.

My Five Most Popular Non-Recipe Posts

In honor of Burnt My Fingers’ second anniversary, I’m revisiting our most popular posts of all time. Here are the top five non-recipe posts: The Sauce that Made Mr. Durkee Famous. This was originally posted on my marketing blog, but … Continue reading

Posted in Cooking, Eating, Something Else | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Why I’m not buying a Sansaire sous vide device

The Kickstarter for the Sansaire sous vide device has taken the world by storm. It’s far surpassed its funding goal and now will include the “reach” of a 220V version, a reference towel included in orders, and a choice of … Continue reading

Posted in Cooking, Something Else | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

What’s the best way to ferment vegetables?

We like to brag about successes here on Burnt My Fingers, while learning from failures privately. Take the experiments in which I ferment vegetables.  I wrote about the Kosher dills which were a near-ringer for Patricia Fairhurst’s, but not the next … Continue reading

Posted in Cooking, Eating | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Food Porn: Akimono Sushi Roll (Monkfish Liver)

I found fresh monkfish liver, AKA akimono or “the foie gras of the sea”, at my local fishmonger for $12.95 a pound. That’s not much more than calf’s liver! So it was time to bring some home and do some experimentation … Continue reading

Posted in Cooking, Eating | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

(Pork) Belly of the Beast

I have been messing around with pork belly, which is readily available at my new local market. You can’t go wrong with this stuff. I followed David Chang’s simple method in the Momofuku Cookbook: rub it with a salt/sugar cure, … Continue reading

Posted in Cooking, Mains, Recipes | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Why bakers steam their bread (and how you can too)

One of the differences between home and professional bakers is that commercial bakeries have ovens which release copious quantities of steam on demand. I got a lesson this week in why steam is important, when I took a Sourdough Rye … Continue reading

Posted in Cooking | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

A talk with Duncan Werner, inventor of SideKIC

While in San Francisco last month for the Fancy Food Show, I sat down with Duncan Werner, inventor of the ICA Kitchen SideKIC. This is a gadget that combines three of the four requirements for sous vide cooking: a heating … Continue reading

Posted in Cooking, Food Heroes | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

My first Sous Vide

I had a snarky comment at the top of my “Buy This” page about “no sous vide here” and Chef Ron Cooke called me on it during our interview at Querencia at Barton Creek. Sous vide is, he points out, … Continue reading

Posted in Cooking | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Recipe: Real Texas Chili

[Spoiler Alert: real Texas chili contains no beans.] Frank X. Tolbert was a columnist who worked with my father at the Dallas Morning News. Later he opened a chain of chili parlors and became a celebrity judge at chili cook-offs. … Continue reading

Posted in Cooking, Recipes | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Recipe: Fennel Pollen Shortbread

Third of my 3 holiday bakes. Buttery, salty, with a complex taste from the fennel pollen. Adapted from this recipe which in turn attributes it to Kir Jensen, operator of a Portland food truck. Makes about 4 dozen shortbreads. Ingredients: 2 c … Continue reading

Posted in Baking and Baked Goods, Cooking, Recipes, Sweets | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment